Haley will do whatever it takes to win

LATROBE – From the moment the Steelers hit the field for their first camp practice, there have been misconceptions about Todd Haley’s new offense.

There have been reports that he’s putting an extra emphasis on running the ball.

There are reports that he’s ordered his offense as a whole to be more physical than the offenses the Steelers had when Bruce Arians called plays.

Those reports, however, are not accurate.

Haley, the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator, was never told by anyone in the organization to run more.

Never was he told to incorporate more of a “smash-mouth” philosophy into his playbook.

Starting this year when the offense is on the field trying to advance the ball and score points, it’s Haley’s job to use the talent he has to work with accordingly. It doesn’t matter how many times Isaac Redman runs the ball or how many times Ben Roethlisberger heaves it.

Stats be damned as long as the Steelers win.

“We want to be a team that can run it when we want to run it and throw it when we have to throw it,” Haley said. “If you can run it when they know you’re going to run it, and you can throw it when they know you’re going to throw, you have a chance to be real good.”

During his time as offensive coordinator in Arizona and then head coach in Kansas City where he also ran the offense, Haley proved to be flexible.

With the Cardinals, Haley loved the passing game. After all, he had star quarterback Kurt Warner throwing to a stable of dynamic receivers in Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston. In 2008, the Cardinals ranked second in the league in passing and dead last in rushing, yet they almost beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

In 2010 when Haley led Kansas City to the AFC West Division title, the Chiefs led the league in rushing but only ranked 30th in passing.

So he's done it both ways.

He knows you do whatever it takes to win.

As far as the Steelers looking more physical offensively so far, they are. That’s because of their personnel.

Isaac Redman, a real bruiser, is now the starting running back, and not Rashard Mendenhall.

Up front, Willie Colon is back. Before sitting out the past two years with injuries, he was a nasty brawler of a right tackle. Now he’s at left guard on an offensive line that includes center Maurkice Pouncey, guard David DeCastro and tackle Marcus Gilbert. No one has to tell them to play physical. That’s their nature.

Beside opening up holes for Redman and whoever else carries the ball, the O-line has another important mission, and that’s to protect the franchise quarterback. Remember,

Roethlisberger is the face of the franchise and he’s going to get his chance to throw the ball often especially when Mike Wallace ends his foolish holdout.

“As a staff, we feel good about the direction we’re going in,” Haley said. “There’s a lot of work to do. We’re still reinstalling a bunch of the things. But we feel good about where we are.”

There’s no doubt that an offensive coordinator has an important job. But keep in mind, the Steelers have played in eight AFC championship games and three Super Bowls in the last 18 seasons. In those big games, no less than five different offensive coordinators called the shots (Ron Erhardt, Chan Gailey, Mike Mularkey, Ken Whisenhunt and Arians).

Success offensively isn’t so much about the man drawing up the plays. It’s about the men who execute them.

WHAT HALEY HAD TO SAY

On the offense changing in any way if holdout wide receiver Mike Wallace does not report:

“A lot of this process for me has been trying to figure out what each guy’s strengths and weaknesses are. That’s coaching, playing to their strengths and trying to stay away from weaknesses. To this point, we’ve coached and worked with the guys who are here. Wallace is a great player, and I’m counting on him being here. But right now, I just have to really stay focused on who’s here and developing and getting everybody ready to go.”

On the replacements for running back Rashard Mendenhall:

“I’m excited about that group. We have a wide range of body types and skill sets. That’s good. We have some big, strong guys like Isaac Redman who can run it up in there when needed but who also has outside ability. Then you have some of the little sports-car type bodies (like Baron Batch and Chris Rainey) that offer different weapons for us. It’s a good mix. It’s a good group of guys.”

On having a veteran, successful quarterback when going through the process of putting in a new offense:

“I’ve heard people say that it’s a quarterback league. Having now spent 17 years coaching, I believe that. You need a guy that can be the field general and move the football team up and down the field, control the huddle and handle the defense. Ben (Roethlisberger) is in that group of top guys. He’s proven it from day one in the NFL. I’m having a lot of fun across the board with all position groups, but him handling that football every snap makes it fun for us offensive coaches.”

On the interior offensive linemen having mean reputations:

“We’re excited about seeing this entire line. This is a young group, but they all have a lot of competitive fire starting in the middle with Maurkice Pouncey. Willie Colon is mean and nasty. He’s just what you’d think a player coming from the Bronx, Hofstra University, and Long Island would be like. “

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